When You’re Feeling Shitty

Sometimes we all get psychologically knocked down and feel shitty. Times when we become vulnerable to the negative thoughts of our ego-mind and it overtakes us. It happens to everyone. We all experience days, weeks, seasons, and sometimes even years where we feel buried in the stench of negativity. This is when we seem to lose our own integrity, crumble, and fall apart. The very act of living itself can seem nearly impossible during these crappy times.

If that’s you right now, and you could use some guidance to pull yourself out of the shit, this ego-less formula below can help you clean yourself off:

1. Wake up to the shit.

The fact that you are here, reading this blog, means that you have already accomplished the first Ego-less step to feeling better. You have acknowledged that you feel shitty and want to feel better. Good for you. Your awareness is in the process of waking up. Awareness breeds itself, which means that the more aware you become of your thoughts, feelings, and inner whereabouts, the more you will become aware of what’s wrong and how you can fix it. Awareness, plus adjusting some of your current perceptions, is often enough to kickstart some positive changes and flush out ego-mind toxins allowing you to be well on your way to the path of recovery!

2. Conclude this shit.

There is always wisdom nuggets in the toxins, which brings us to the next point. Why? Time for some self-inquiry. Learn the lesson you are supposed to be learning so things can shift. What’s the message hiding in the shit? Have you drifted too far from your best self? Are you getting too stagnant? Or maybe the opposite, and you need some R&R? Maybe you are pursuing something that you shouldn’t be? Maybe you aren’t pursuing something that you should be? Journal, meditate, talk to a therapist or a helpful friend or family member. Do what you have to do to figure it out. Conclude this experience so that you can move forward.

3. Preserver through the shit (without adding more shit to the pile!)

In the meantime, as you pounder the conclusion, know that these shitty feelings will pass. You just keep on keeping on and move through the growing pains, trusting that how you feel right now will change for the better soon enough. Our bodies and minds are always trying to heal. And if you want to speed up this process, quit interfering with it. Do your humanly best to stop letting your ego reminisce and pollute your mind any further as you push through this time. Sanitize your mind by flushing all of your ego’s thoughts that are holding onto “shitty stories” that you’d rather do without.

Inhale and say a positive word to yourself (like “clear” or “refresh”)

Find something in that moment to be thankful for and appreciate

Think of a song with upbeat lyrics and replay it in your head to drown out your ego

Find much more tips and tricks and techniques on our free app to help you support mindfulness and personal development (and other apps that help support mindfulness or personal development?)

4. Up your unshitty game

Finally, the last piece to the equation is to take yourself up a notch. Start accumulating some forward momentum. Get yourself moving and accomplish something, even if it’s just to tidy up the house, go for a walk, make yourself a healthy meal. Do something productive in the interest of your best self. Find something that you were procrastinating on doing and scratch it off your list. Get back into the energy of movement to provoke a state of change.

Know that your ego will test you as you try pulling yourself up and out of the shit by feeding you conflicting thoughts that promote inaction and perpetuate the shit storm. Keep forcing yourself onward and your ego-less determination will snowball allowing you to get out of this rut before you know it.

As you up your great-game, you will be reconnecting yourself with the potential for greatness that is burning inside of you. These shitty days are only mucking you up so that you can give yourself a full detailing!